The Jewels of Four
by Gema J. Gall
Summary: REWRITTEN InuYasha&YuGiOh! Crossover. What is this strange magic Kagome is sensing around these golden items? And why does it seem like a Shikon Shard? There is more to the legend than anyone knows.
1. Prologue, Domino City, Japan 2000AD

**Yu-Gi-Oh!/Inu-Yasha Crossover**

**The Jewels of Four**

By: Gema J. Gall

Disclaimer: I regret to inform myself that I am not part of the genius Takahashi family that came up with these two brilliant storylines. xsobx

AN/ This will contain spoilers throughout both series, even through their ends. Read at your own risk!

AN2/ I'm totally rewriting this fic and many of my older ones. My style when I started these was very newbie-ish and since then my ideas and skills have greatly improved. This means better fics for you!

Gema's Personal Disclaimer: I'm putting this in front of every chapter I write, so no one can miss it.

First, the obvious, I don't own anything trademarked or copyrighted.

Second; These are my fics, so y'all will have to deal with my writing quirks. Do not bother telling me about my spelling choices, like Yu-Gi, Joe, Millennial, or whatever else they may be. These are not mistakes, they are intentional. Therefore, I don't want to hear about how they are other wise spelled. If spelling bothers you that much, then leave.

I, and everyone else, do not appreciate personal attacks. My fics are what are open to being critized, not my character. Attacking me is libel, and I will report it as harassment.

I will not include profanity in my writings. Deal with it. Also, I do not appreciate profanity in reviews, so please don't include it. There's over 600,000 words in the English language. I am sure y'all can use something besides profanity.

Some review etiquette should be observed. As says at the bottom of each review page "It is extremely helpful to use this opportunity to comment on an aspect of the story that can be improved. A well rounded critique is often the most rewarding tool for the writer." I would appreciate constructive reviews. "Please continue" is not very helpful. Reviews that are solely demands for updates or explanations about a lack of updates are not helpful. And please, use recognizable grammar when reviewing. A review isn't very helpful if I can't read it.

Please check my bio from time to time. If I am on vacation or something and cannot update, that will be in the first few lines of my bio. I'll try to let y'all know if there's an update delay, so please check.

Feel free to contact me either through IM or e-mail, that information is in my bio as well.

Now, most of you aren't the problem, but this is for the few that are. This might come across as crabby, and I'm not really like this, but I've been pushed to my limit because of certain reviews.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Chapter One: Prologue; Domino City, Japan 2000AD

The window of Kagome's bedroom was open, letting in the cool evening breeze. It ruffled her curtains and sheet slightly, but it was still a poor substitute for sleeping under the stars. She dug her face further into her pillow. While she enjoyed its comfort and the softness of her bed, there was still something missing—or someone. And that fact was preventing her from falling asleep easily. So, instead, her thoughts continued to roam as she waited for sleep to set in.

"_We now have the last shard...one in Kohaku, two in Koga...and the rest with Naraku. So we'll have to be really careful now..." _she thought as she hugged her pillow.

Kagome shook her head and mentally scolded herself for worrying about the events in feudal Japan. She returned home to take a break from them. She turned over on her mattress and pulled the sheets closer. This era had its own stresses. She had a math test tomorrow that she only learned about four hours ago. It wasn't just any test either, it was a preparation exam to practice for the quickly approaching high school entrance exams. Now, her brain was fuzzy from cramming and she was starting to see Shikon shards being divisible by factors of four. So she finally gave up on studying in hopes that she'd remember more in the morning. Despite this, sleep still evaded her.

"_What about the excuse grandpa gave for my absence this time?"_ thought Kagome with a groan. She clutched her pillow tightly over her head to stop her thoughts from coming up with their own nightmares about that situation.

That didn't help any so she propped herself up on her elbows and looked out the window at the stars and waning moon. She could almost see Inu-Yasha's face in it and a stab of longing pierced her heart, followed quickly by a wave of angry frustration. For a moment she got the mental image of him leaping into her classroom as she tried to take that test in order to pull her back to the past and hunt for the jewel shards.

"_That jerk, he'd better not show up here this time!"_ she thought and immediately regretted. With a sigh she again turned on her bed. _"Inu-Yasha..."_

-x-x-x-x-x-

Kagome wasn't the only one having a restless night. Across town, Yami and Yu-Gi were trapped inside a new nightmare. Unlike the times before, this dream didn't involve Duel Monsters or pyramids but rather people that neither of them knew. Shadows always angled just right to keep them from getting a good look at the faces though.

The dream started with a beam of light striking what seemed like a small, white marble. The marble shattered and its pieces rained down across the land. The dream shifted and someone with long white hair leapt over them, drawing a sword that could compete with Cloud Strife's buster blade. They immediately noticed the dog ears perked on the top of his head. He attacked something approaching in the shadows, with long spider-like arms made out of darkness. Before Yami or Yu-Gi could react an arrow buzzed between them, igniting with spiritual energy. Its very presence made the Millennial Puzzle pulse.

Yu-Gi sat straight up in bed, not feeling fearful but deeply confused. He could sense Yami who was alert and as baffled as well. He took a deep breath and shook his head to clear it, but the images from the dream were still burned onto the back of his eyelids.

_/Yami...what was that?/_ Yu-Gi asked, wondering if that was the right question to ask.

_/I don't know, aibou,/_ answered Yami. He looked out of the window and up at the moon in thought. A long pause of silence settled between them. _/Perhaps it is a sign about the approaching future./_

_/But we already beat Pegasus, Marik, and the Orichalcos!/_ exclaimed Yu-Gi. _/We're supposed to be helping you unlock your memories now!/_ He sounded as if he was protesting, which stemmed from him not wanting to get into another conspiracy that resulted in them saving the world. Even though Yu-Gi was concerned about what might happen once they did, he wanted to do all he could to help his alter-ego regain his memories.

Yami turned and looked at him, his expression calming down his hikari. Although he didn't show it, he was touched by Yu-Gi's dedication. _/The road to my memories won't be easy. Everything we have encountered has been a stage in that journey. I am sure that whatever happens next will be the same./_

_/...You're right,/_ Yu-Gi agreed, shaking off his frustration. _/We've gotten through everything because we've all stuck together. So this won't be any different./_

Yami nodded and went back to looking out the window. He was still busy trying to dissect the last image from the dream. Absentmindedly he gripped the Millennial Puzzle whose image hung around his neck even though he was a spirit and the real puzzle was sitting next to Yu-Gi on his pillow. Much to his surprise, the puzzle was still warm, just like it had been in the dream. He stood in silence for minutes, thinking that Yu-Gi had drifted back asleep. However, Yu-Gi was still very much awake, watching his alter-ego stare into the night. It wasn't too hard for him to observe the concern across Yami's face or his fingers hugging the corners of the puzzle.

_/Pharaoh.../_ Yu-Gi started, then hesitated. Yami turned around, waiting for him to continue so Yu-Gi fumbled a question together. _/About the Millennial Puzzle...How does it work? I mean...well...what is magic?/_ His mind also went back to the glowing arrow from their joint dream.

_/I...don't remember,/_ Yami answered honestly as he quickly paced through the halls of his mind searching for an answer and a clue to his past.

_/Sorry.../_ Yu-Gi replied, scolding himself for asking something like that.

_/It's alright. Now get some sleep,/_ Yami replied, turning his attention back to the night. Yu-Gi nodded and leaned back against his pillow but it was a long, sleepless night for both of them as they continued to turn thoughts and questions over and over in their minds.

-x-x-x-x-x-

On that same night five hundred years ago someone else was finding it hard to sleep. Or rather, this person was so occupied that sleep was the last concern. The room was lit by several candles, although those barely penetrated the deep, dusty corners and around all of the shelves which were stacked with old scrolls, tablets, manuscripts, and books blanketed in dust and spiderwebs. The walls were made of cold, grey brick which had cracked with time. Ivy and other plants had taken root, their leaves lining the places of worse decay.

In the middle of this was a single table with a pile of scrolls and several candles. Kikyo sat here, leaning over one scroll in particular as she read it, oblivious to the passing of time. She dragged her finger under the strange symbolic text, frequently checking another scroll written in kanji to help with her interpretation. She took special caution not to damage the ancient scroll, moving it with great care as she unwound it further. She'd occasional mouth a word or bite her lip as she learned something more. It was otherwise completely silent, even her soul-skimmers infrequently drifted in and out of a glassless window in silence.

As she read the last word her dark eyes went wide with surprise and realization. She stood to her feet abruptly, still stunned, her mind working quickly to process what she had just read. She glanced down again, rereading the final line in affirmation.

"With this...I can..." she murmured to no one in particular. She raised a finger to her lips in thought, removing it from the scroll. Without her holding it down any more, the scroll rocked backward, slightly rolling itself together. The light caught the foreign symbol on the scroll's seal; the Eye of Horus.


	2. Domino City, Japan 2000AD

Gema's Personal Disclaimer: I'm putting this in front of every chapter I write, so no one can miss it.

First, the obvious, I don't own anything trademarked or copyrighted.

Second; These are my fics, so y'all will have to deal with my writing quirks. Do not bother telling me about my spelling choices, like Yu-Gi, Joe, Millennial, or whatever else they may be. These are not mistakes, they are intentional. Therefore, I don't want to hear about how they are other wise spelled. If spelling bothers you that much, then leave.

I, and everyone else, do not appreciate personal attacks. My fics are what are open to being critized, not my character. Attacking me is libel, and I will report it as harassment.

I will not include profanity in my writings. Deal with it. Also, I do not appreciate profanity in reviews, so please don't include it. There's over 600,000 words in the English language. I am sure y'all can use something besides profanity.

Some review etiquette should be observed. As says at the bottom of each review page "It is extremely helpful to use this opportunity to comment on an aspect of the story that can be improved. A well rounded critique is often the most rewarding tool for the writer." I would appreciate constructive reviews. "Please continue" is not very helpful. Reviews that are solely demands for updates or explanations about a lack of updates are not helpful. And please, use recognizable grammar when reviewing. A review isn't very helpful if I can't read it.

Please check my bio from time to time. If I am on vacation or something and cannot update, that will be in the first few lines of my bio. I'll try to let y'all know if there's an update delay, so please check.

Feel free to contact me either through IM or e-mail, that information is in my bio as well.

Now, most of you aren't the problem, but this is for the few that are. This might come across as crabby, and I'm not really like this, but I've been pushed to my limit because of certain reviews.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 2: Domino City; Japan 2000AD

The next morning Kagome was walking to school, her head down slightly as she stared blankly forward in thought. Her worries from the prior night had not diminished any with the little sleep she had, rather they seemed to have increased. The approaching math test loamed over her head like a dark cloud and yet her mind kept straying to Inu-Yasha.

She stopped before a crosswalk with other students wearing the uniform from her school as well as those from other schools. Cars hurried passed on the green light, whipping their exhaust at the pedestrians. Casually conversations floated overhead as the various groups of students joked and gossiped on their way to their classes.

"Hey! Kagome!" a voice finally snapped Kagome out of her thoughts. She turned to see her friends Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi walking on the sidewalk towards her. They waved and smiled brightly and Kagome did her best to mimic them.

"It's great to see you coming to school," Eri said.

Yuka nodded in agreement, "I can't believe it. I mean, rheumatism, gout, beri-beri and then you get West Nile and bird flu all at once!"

Kagome cringed and stiffened, her one eye twitching slightly. _"Grandpa!"_

"You sure you're completely well?" continued Yuka. "You seem really out of it. Eri called you three times before you turned around. And it looks like you've got bags under your eyes."

"Oh...sorry...I..." Kagome stumbled for an excuse.

The light turned yellow, then red and the pedestrian sign flashed on. The girls started forward with the rest of the crowd, all moving in the same direction at the same speed. Kagome tried to focus on their chatter over the noise of the other voices, idling vehicles, and shuffling of footsteps. She made the occasional comment and insisted that she really was well enough to attend school today.

"So, what about the rude, jealous guy of yours?" asked Eri, unable to hold off on asking about Kagome's mysterious boyfriend any more. "Did he do anything nice while you were sick? Like bringing flowers or soup?"

"I bet he did, he seemed nice when we met him at her house," commented Ayumi.

Kagome cringed again, "He'd never do anything so thoughtful, that jerk can be so...!"

She was fortunately cut off from finishing that statement. As if on a cord, all of her friends turned and looked further up the sidewalk at the same time, at the same person. Hojo was waiting patiently at the corner Kagome always had to turn down to reach her school; a small bundle was held carefully in his one arm. His semi-oblivious expression scanned the crowd as if he was looking for someone. He then turned and saw Kagome approach with her friends and smiled brightly.

"Kagome!" he waved.

Kagome heard a round of snickering behind her. "We'll leave you two alone," Eri almost cooed and the three friends strolled off after briefly saying hello to Hojo. He nodded at them, then approached Kagome who shifted her weight on her feet slightly.

"Hello, Hojo," she murmured.

"Hello," he smiled back. "Are you feeling okay? And did you like the chicken noodle soup I sent you?"

"Soup...?" Kagome echoed, having no idea what he was talking about. So, she quickly faked an answer. "Sure, it was really good...from what I could taste, I mean...being sick and all..."

Hojo simpled beamed. "I'm glad you liked it! Can I walk you to class? Just in case you have a relapse or something?"

"T-thanks, of course," Kagome stammered.

She turned with him and they started walking, Hojo doing most of the talking. At the very least, Kagome was lightly touched by his genuine concern for her and her onslaught of strange illnesses. She changed the subject to the approaching math test in an attempt to get some last minute hints out of him. They passed a crowd of students going in the other direction to a different school as Hojo recited a shortcut to a formula. Kagome stopped short, and it wasn't to only let the other students pass. Her spiritual sense instantly noticed a very familiar glow coming from somewhere within the middle of the group. Her eyes went wide and unblinking as she watched it pass, knowing without a doubt that it was a shard from the Shikon Jewel.

"Kagome?" Hojo asked, pausing his explanation. "Are you okay? You suddenly got really pale."

Kagome barely heard him. She was so surprised to randomly sense a shard in the present, especially after finding the last shard, that she could do little more than watch it pass by. She subconsciously moved after it a step, but by then Hojo had reached out and touched her shoulder to get her attention. She blinked and snapped out of her surprised.

"Kagome?" repeated Hojo. "You look like you're going to faint."

"I don't feel so good..." she murmured, giving in.

"I'll take you to the hospital wing," Hojo volunteered.

"No, no need," insisted Kagome, inching backward slightly, towards the way the other group of students were going. "I...um...need to go the the pharmacy to fill out a prescription." She mentally slapped herself for telling such a lame and obvious lie. She knew Hojo would have to instantly see through it. For a brief moment she realized how hard her grandpa had to have it to always come up with excuses on the spot. She looked up at Hojo, waiting for him to call her out.

"I'll go with you," Hojo replied, causing Kagome to nearly face-fault at his obliviousness.

"No! I mean...I don't want you to be late for class," said Kagome. "I mean, what with that mock exam coming up. I'll make it fine, then I'll head home."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, but if you need any help, call someone right away," cautioned Hojo. "I don't want you to get any worse." He gave her a compassionate look and waved, turning towards their school. He kept facing back, watching her, just to make sure she was okay.

"Thank you, bye!" Kagome said. She waved as well, then hurried off as fast as she could without running to follow after the students that she just saw before they turned a corner and she lost track of them entirely.

"_Wow,"_ thought Hojo, falling more in love with her. _"She's as sick as a dog and yet she still pushes herself to be here for tests and worries about our grades too."_

As soon as Kagome was out of his sight she broke into a run, frantically searching for any traces of the Shikon shard. Students from various schools were all trying to race to class before the final bell rang. The streets were more chaotic then Kagome had ever seen them. She duck around businessmen and junior high students, her head sweeping from side to side as she scanned for the faintest glow.

"_How can there be another shard?!" _she thought, baffled.

She saw it through the corner of a brick wall first, traveling at an angle to her. Her eyes looked on that glow and she raced around the corner only to nearly collide with a group of guys in navy uniforms similar to her school's black ones. Those students joined the stream of similarly uniformed students all heading in the same direction towards their school, making it even harder on her as she tried to pinpoint exactly who had the jewel shard.

"_Where could he have gone?" _wondered Kagome.

She continued to lock in on the glow and maneuvered her way through the mass of people. As she nearly got shouldered by a towering senior, a narrow pathway appeared before her in the crowds as people clustered closer to their friends to hear their specific conversation. She caught a direct glimpse of the shard's glow, clearly moving forward with a very short boy who had his back to her. She mustered her courage and hurried over to catch him.

The sound of someone clearing their throat in her ear caught her attention and Kagome suddenly became aware of her surroundings. Her cheeks flushed scarlet with embarrassment. She had followed the crowd right up to the gates of their school. Hers was the only white and green uniform amid navy and pink ones. She knew she didn't belong here and couldn't just walk into the school to continue her search. Without looking at the gate monitor who was giving her a hard look, she slowly inched backward and pressed her back against the outside wall.

Kagome glanced side to side, trying to figure out another plan. She tried her best to look nonchalant and walked away from the main entrance, approach a street that ran along the school's left side. It looked like it was only lined with bushes and small trees, although she was at the wrong angle to tell for sure if there was no wall there.

"Hey, Kagome!" a loud voice called.

"EEK!" Kagome couldn't help but exclaim as Inu-Yasha almost literally landed right in front of her. But the instant of alarm was over and almost immediately replaced by anger. "Inu-Yasha!"

"So this dump is where you've been hiding? Quit playing games! We got to get going; we have more important things to do like dealing with Naraku!" Inu-Yasha said, completely unaware of the freaked-out looks they were getting from the tardy students.

"Inu-Yasha..." Kagome growled a warning, her hands clenching and unclenching.

"Why are you so steamed?" Inu-Yasha shot back.

He finished slurping down noddles and broth from an almost empty bowl in his left hand. Kagome noticed this so she didn't reply immediately. She also noticed the card attached to the side of the bowl. Although it was only half open, she could still read "...t well soon, Hojo." on the inside flap.

"Where did you get that?" asked Kagome, tersely.

"This junk? On your counter," answered Inu-Yasha, discarding the bowl. "Some instant noodles, it had all this vegetable crap in it." He flicked a piece of celery out of his teeth with a claw in disdain.

Kagome's eye twitched slightly, just once. "Go home, Inu-Yasha! I'll come back later!"

"Just cause you're having a bad day, don't take it out on me!" Inu-Yasha retorted.

"For your information, I'm on the trail of a jewel shard and you're distracting me!" Kagome argued right back. They were both getting progressively louder, so fortunately for them all of the students had already entered the building and the final bell had rung. Classes were just starting and the once busy sidewalks were now relatively empty.

Inu-Yasha's expression changed almost immediately the moment Kagome mentioned the shard. It went from irritated to confusion, surprise and even eagerness within that second. He stood up straight and started looking all around. "A jewel shard? Where?! How?!"

"I think one of the kids in this school has it," answered Kagome, letting out a frustrated breath. She stepped around Inu-Yasha and the corner of the school's wall and continued to follow the shrub line with Inu-Yasha rattling off one-word questions in her ear.

It didn't take long for him to stop his question rant. "That's it! I'm going after it!" exclaimed Inu-Yasha as he jumped up and put a hand on the hilt of Tetsusaiga. He crouched back, ready to easily leap over the wall.

"No you don't!" exclaimed Kagome as she grabbed onto his arm to restrain him. She leaned back slightly, trying to keep him from springing forward.

"I thought you wanted the shard found!" Inu-Yasha snapped back.

"I do, but you can't just charge into things with sword waving like you do in your era!" Kagome argued. "Things in this era requires tact, communication, and a woman's touch!" She again tugged at his cuff.

"Stop your blabbering already!" Inu-Yasha snapped, his little patience completely spent. He pulled away from her and leapt up, into the air and over the bushes.

"SIT!" Kagome barked.

FLASH! WHAM! Inu-Yasha hit the dirt from ten feet off of the ground. He crashed right through the middle of a shrub, a branch causing him to spit leaves. He instantly started swearing under his breath as he pushed against the ground, waiting for the spell to lift.

"Kagome!" growled Inu-Yasha as he raked the grass with his claws.

"You brought it on yourself," she retorted, crossing her arms.

"I did?! You're the one who's not making any sense here!" Inu-Yasha argued as he flailed on the ground.

"I'm missing my mock math exam, you made me loose the trail of the shard, and you're making a scene! You should have just listened and gone home!"

"Like I care about your stupid tests!"

"You are such a jerk!"

"Wait until I can stand again…!"

"SIT!"

FLASH! WHAM!

-x-x-x-x-x-

Yu-Gi sat by the window in class, occasionally glancing outside when the lecture became too monotonous to focus on any more. That's how he spotted a girl from another school and a guy in a weird robe arguing just outside of the school grounds. Although they were two far away to hear, Yu-Gi found their animated argument to be amusing nonetheless. The way they waved their arms and spazzed was definitely the perfect distraction from the lesson. However, once the girl turned around he knew it would be impossible to pull his violet eyes away.

The girl was the same one from the dream he had had to other night. Even though he didn't see her face at that time, he knew there was no mistaking the long, dark hair or the spiritual aura that Yami was sensing. It took him a moment, but the presence of the sheath also confirmed to them that the guy with her was also in their dream, although Yu-Gi did briefly wonder about the massive sword that the dream had shown.

Yami was watching as intently if not more so at the couple outside. _/I...sense something about those two...And after that dream?/_

_/What do you mean, pharaoh?/_ wondered Yu-Gi.

_/I don't know, but it seems almost…..familiar,/_ answered the pharaoh. Yami paused and thought some more. _/Very familiar… I just wish I could remember…/_

Before Yu-Gi mentally reply, he felt something nudge him in the side. He instantly pulled his gaze away from the window and prepared to apologize to the teacher for daydreaming during class. However, his teacher was still at the front of the room. He looked over and noticed his friend Bakura, facing forward but with his eyes looking to the side; trying to appear like he was paying attention in class but really he was trying to catch Yu-Gi's attention. They made eye contact.

Bakura shifted nervously and Yu-Gi noticed that he seemed paler than usual. He pointed down under his desk, angling slightly so Yu-Gi could see. In his left hand was the Millennial Ring, the strap broken and cut short so that it could never fit around his neck and control him again. Yu-Gi's eyes went as wide as his friend's when he saw that the central point on the Millennial Ring was active, pointing to the left and out the window at the couple he had noticed a minute ago.

_/What are they?/_ wondered Yu-Gi as he turned his head in time to see the guy fall to the sidewalk and the girl storm away.


	3. BoneEater's Well, Japan 2000AD

AN/ Shayla is an OC of mine, you can read about her in my Shayla's Story saga which is going to be revised just as I am doing for this fic.

Gema's Personal Disclaimer: I'm putting this in front of every chapter I write, so no one can miss it.

First, the obvious, I don't own anything trademarked or copyrighted.

Second; These are my fics, so y'all will have to deal with my writing quirks. Do not bother telling me about my spelling choices, like Yu-Gi, Joe, Millennial, or whatever else they may be. These are not mistakes, they are intentional. Therefore, I don't want to hear about how they are other wise spelled. If spelling bothers you that much, then leave.

I, and everyone else, do not appreciate personal attacks. My fics are what are open to being critized, not my character. Attacking me is libel, and I will report it as harassment.

I will not include profanity in my writings. Deal with it. Also, I do not appreciate profanity in reviews, so please don't include it. There's over 600,000 words in the English language. I am sure y'all can use something besides profanity.

Some review etiquette should be observed. As says at the bottom of each review page "It is extremely helpful to use this opportunity to comment on an aspect of the story that can be improved. A well rounded critique is often the most rewarding tool for the writer." I would appreciate constructive reviews. "Please continue" is not very helpful. Reviews that are solely demands for updates or explanations about a lack of updates are not helpful. And please, use recognizable grammar when reviewing. A review isn't very helpful if I can't read it.

Please check my bio from time to time. If I am on vacation or something and cannot update, that will be in the first few lines of my bio. I'll try to let y'all know if there's an update delay, so please check.

Feel free to contact me either through IM or e-mail, that information is in my bio as well.

Now, most of you aren't the problem, but this is for the few that are. This might come across as crabby, and I'm not really like this, but I've been pushed to my limit because of certain reviews.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 3: Bone-Eater's Well, Japan 2000AD

"Naraku's going to be even more aggressive now," commented Miroku, five hundred years ago.

He sat on his knees on a large picnic blanket that Kagome had laid out. Sango was beside him, just out of arm's reach. Inu-Yasha, Kagome, and Shippō were present as well, all seated around the various snack foods that Kagome had brought with her from the future. They ate as they talked and planned, occasionally commenting on the strange taste of Kagome's food. The Bone-Eater's Well was only a few yards beyond them as they sat underneath the shade of an older tree. The sun was warm and just about directly overhead. Clouds drifted idly by—it was a pleasant day.

"But we've got the last shard; that's good, right?" chimed Shippō.

"He still has a large piece of the Shikon Jewel," reminded Sango as she tasted some of Kagome's bottled green tea. "That means we'll have to confront him—and soon at that, before he targets Kohaku's shard." She glanced down sadly, but strained herself not to show her concern—no one was fooled. "His and Koga's are the only other ones out there and soon Naraku will go after them..."

Kagome perked when she heard this, "That reminds me, I sensed a shard today in my era."

"You what?!" exclaimed Sango and Miroku in unison.

"I lost sight of it when Inu-Yasha interrupted me though," said Kagome with a slightly biting tone. She disdainfully jerked her thumb to point in the half-demon's direction.

"So it's my fault?!" shot Inu-Yasha. "You're the one who wouldn't let me charge in and take it!"

"You can't just go swinging swords in my era!" Kagome shouted back.

"And you'd rather let a shard run loose in just anyone's hands?!"

"I was _trying_ to get it! Tactfully!"

Sango and Miroku merely continued to sip their drinks as the two continued to bicker, saving their questions for when the couple wasn't fighting. They didn't look up; they didn't have to. They all knew precisely where this argument was heading—in the same direction as all the ones before it. Within that same minute Inu-Yasha's rosary necklace glowed and he came crashing to the ground while Kagome continued to stand, fuming.

"Ka...go...me!" growled Inu-Yasha as he struggled to lift his head.

"For a dog, you can be so pigheaded!"

Sango turned to Miroku as they continued to block out the quarreling. "If shards exist in the future—does that mean that the Shikon Jewel was never reunited in our time?"

Miroku sighed, "I don't know. But if Kagome brings shards from her time to ours, I have wondered if that won't alter events from her time." He paused a moment and peeled back the wrapper further on an energy bar. "But all we can do is our best, resist Naraku and the other demons, and bring the pieces of the jewel together. If it's Buddha's will, things will all work out in the end."

"Well, maybe the shard she saw today is a shard from her time...so maybe we don't have to worry about it," commented Shippō.

"But she told us that she already brought one shard from her time to ours, that one from the Noh Mask," replied Miroku, thinking deeply.

Sango nodded slightly, "So, Miroku, you..."

Her comment was cut off by Kagome shrilling, "Sit **and** stay!"

Inu-Yasha hadn't fully picked himself up when he was pulled to the ground again, a small crater forming beneath him. One of his hands was in the air, reaching towards Kagome to stop her as she spun around on her heel.

"I _know_ I need to find that shard and I _will_ find it!" shot Kagome. She marched towards the well. "I'm going home, and I'll find that shard. Don't come after me until you can act _civil_ Inu-Yasha!" As she spoke she swung her legs over the edge of the well and prepared to jump down. Before she did, she mustered the best pleasant tone she could. "Enjoy the food everyone!" With a wave she vanished back into the present.

"That...little!" fumed Inu-Yasha.

"You know you owe her another apology," stated Miroku as Sango and Shippō nodded in unison beside him, which only provoked his temper more.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Although the sun was bright, little of it reached through the thick canopy in the dark, ancient forest that Kikyo was in. She still worked in the ruined library, pouring over scrolls and texts. However, now the dirty floor had been cleared. The shelves, tables, and pots of scrolls had all been pushed to the corners. Several candle stands had been set up and lit, creating ominous shadows in the dark corners. Kikyo was on her knees, drawing a perfect circle within a circle on the ground and then carefully lining it with runes. She'd occasionally check an open scroll to make sure she was getting everything exactly right.

Through the holes in the roof and the broken windows her soul skimmers drifted in and out. They'd infrequently deposit a new soul which her body quickly absorbed. However, that wasn't the only thing they brought in on this day. One drifted in with a ruby red talisman dangling from its needle-like legs. Another brought in stubby candles made out of an odd colored wax.

Kikyo accepted these items too and placed them carefully around her double circle. Then, she carefully sketched a three-way symbol of infinity in the center. She couldn't help but smile slightly as a soul skimmer brought in the item she needed most—a splinter from the Bone-Eater's Well. She carefully placed this in the very middle of her set-up, then walked over to the scroll with the Eye of Horus on it to confirm everything once more.

"It's time," she murmured to herself.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The bell signaling the end of the the school day finally rung and the students flooded out of the Domino High School. Just inside the gates, Yu-Gi waited as his friends joined him from their afternoon classes. A few minutes later he was there with Joe, Tristan, Téa, Bakura, and Duke. They looked and acted like the other students, but their conversation was anything but average.

"So let me get this straight, you think there's **another** Millennial Item out there?" asked Joe as soon as Yu-Gi was done explaining what happened that morning.

"It seems unlikely. There's only supposed to be seven and they're all accounted for. But Bakura's ring definitely sensed an item," answered Yu-Gi.

"My Millennial Ring doesn't make mistakes," added Bakura. "It tracks Millennial Items and Millennial Items only."

The group continued to walk forward, heading towards Kame Games, Grandpa Motou's store, and Game World, Duke's shop, were they usually hung out. Their feet carried them in this direction automatically, out of habit, which allowed them to process the newest problem that had just presented itself.

Duke ran his fingers through his long, dark bangs as he thought for a moment, piecing together what he knew about the Millennial Items. "Describe this girl again."

"What? Interested in her?" teased Tristan while maintaining the distant hope that Duke's attention would waver from Serenity.

"I just think it's important to who we're dealing with," Duke snapped an answer.

Yu-Gi immediately answered in a voice louder than usual to get their attention and break up their developing argument. "She looked like an average high school student, just from another school. Long black hair, green and white uniform..."

"Could it be a trick?" asked Joe.

"The guy with her looked more suspicious than she did," answered Bakura with some thought. He fiddled with the points on the Millennial Ring out of a slight case of nerves.

"But do you think she **really** has a Millennial Item?" asked Téa. "Like Yu-Gi just said, we know where all seven Millennial Items are."

"Then, she stole it from someone else!" exclaimed Tristan, rather suddenly and forcefully.

Bakura shook his head as the group walked by a convenient store at the corner of a small intersection. Téa waved at a group of their female classmates who were inside buying Pepsi and gossiping. Their group acted perfectly normal while the other students were watching them before turning back to their somber conversation.

"It's not that easy to steal a Millennial Item," continued Bakura, sounding slightly dejected. "And when it happens, everyone else with a Millennial Item knows. Yu-Gi and I haven't sensed anything like that lately."

"You would be the one to know..." murmured Tristan, sounding vaguely sympathetic. Bakura's head bobbed a few centimeters lower.

Duke noticed this and glanced between Tristan and Bakura before asking, "What do you mean?"

"Er...well," stammered Tristan, wondering where to start explaining and noticing that Bakura had no intention of helping with the answer. They stopped at a corner to let traffic pass while Tristan groped for an explanation. "You remember that freaky duel between Bakura and the pharaoh during Battle City?"

"Who could forget?"

"That wasn't Bakura, that's an evil spirit that lives inside the Millennial Ring and likes trying to steal the other Millennial Items." Tristan rubbed the back of his head out of unease as he explained and Bakura nodded slightly in affirmation.

"That...explains a lot," Duke murmured at length.

The light turned red and traffic stopped in front of them. They continued across the crosswalk and onto the sidewalk, passing a store with large furniture displays in the window. An old flyer advertising the Kaiba Corp. Grand Prix hung on the side of the building, its corner torn off completely. The group of friends carefully walked around a family with two small children as they continued to walk and talk.

"Sure you should even be carrying that thing?" Joe interjected, referring to the Millennial Ring that Bakura still held in his free hand.

"I...don't have a choice," sigh Bakura. "No matter how many times, no matter where I throw it away...it always returns to me. But, as long as I don't put it on, that spirit can't control me." He held the ring up higher, allowing them all to see that he severed the neckstrap.

"Isn't there any way you can get rid of it?" asked Téa. She involuntarily took a step away from the Millennial Ring and closer to Yu-Gi.

Bakura shook his head sadly. "Just watch..." He discarded the Millennial Ring in a trash can as they passed by it and continued walking. Joe and Tristan asked why, but Bakura told them to wait and continued walking down the sidewalk without looking back, causing the other five to hurry to catch up with him. Téa glanced back at the trash can but nothing remarkable had happened.

"This is what I mean," said Bakura, trying to keep his accented voice level. He reached into a side pocket of his backpack and pulled out the Millennial Ring. As he did so, a rectangular piece of paper pulled out as well and fluttered to the ground.

"No way!" exclaimed Joe, Tristan, and Duke all at once as he revealed it to them.

"I can't be free of it," Bakura stated, his distress apparent in his tone.

Yu-Gi, although deeply concerned by this, wasn't surprised. Ever since Battle City, the pharaoh had had suspicions about the Millennial Ring and this merely confirmed them all. He paused a moment to pick up the piece of paper that Bakura had dropped. It was decorated in strange symbols and kanji in a rather ornate pattern.

"Bakura, you dropped this," he said, handing it back.

Bakura instantly snatched it back and clung tightly to it.

"What is that thing?" asked Tristan, with some incredulity over his friend's actions.

Bakura suddenly got sheepish. "It's...well...It's...a spell tag." He averted his brown eyes. "It's supposed to ward off evil spirits." Much to his own surprise, no one openly laughed at him.

They turned onto another, smaller street, one that was about two blocks from Kame Games. The crowd had completely thinned out, allowing them to walk and converse unhindered. A transit bus drove pass them going in the other direction, but other than that the traffic was also lightening up the further they got from the main intersections.

The points on the Millennial Ring rattled together softly, creating a bell-like noise. Then, in unison, they all began to point to the left. Yu-Gi, Téa, Joe, Tristan, Duke, and Bakura all stopped walking at the same moment when they noticed this, looking between the ring and the direction it pointed.

"What's happening?" asked Joe, trying to conceal his alarm.

"The ring...senses another Millennial Item nearby," answered Bakura.

Yu-Gi answered after a pause and a nudge from his alter-ego. "I think it's pointing at the girl. It did the same thing in class today."

"It's tugging me," said Bakura as he gripped it tightly, turning the ring so that all of the points were hanging straight forward.

"Then let's follow it," suggested Yu-Gi. "It's the only clue we have and we need answers about why there's another item present."

"On it!" exclaimed Joe as he took off running. "Nothing's gonna escape me!"

"Wait! Don't you need me to lead?" asked Bakura as everyone else sprinted after him.

Joe raced around another corner and after glancing left and right took off to the right. Tristan and Duke were close on his heels followed by Bakura and Téa with Yu-Gi trailing on account of his short legs. Joe nearly collided with an elderly couple, leaving the friends behind him to apologize for his rashness. Bakura shouted ahead several instructions and they turned down several more side streets until they were in the middle of a residential section.

"It's here!" called Bakura while he tried to catch his breath.

By this time, Joe, Tristan, and Duke had long since passed the building that Bakura stopped at. They had to backtrack in a rather comical way. Téa stopped beside him and Yu-Gi nearly collided with them, not expecting the race to be over at that moment. The building was actually a Shinto shrine complete with stairs, arch, and a towering tree. The Millennial Ring was pointing directly up the stairs and tugging urgently in Bakura's hand. The vertical sign by the entrance read 'Sunset Shrine'.

"I know this place," commented Bakura. "This is where I bought my spell tag."

"There's something about this place..." murmured Yu-Gi as he took the first steps forward under the arch, his friends following after him.

They walked in relative silence, both out of respect and observation. The shrine itself was rather small and part of it had been converted into living quarters. The grounds, however, were clean and rather spacial with wooden signs labeling various sacred objects. The group began to fan out slightly as different objects caught their attention in different ways. Bakura, however, walked in a straight line as directed by his Millennial Ring. It pulled him all the way to the back, aiming right at a spring house set up on the edge of the property.

"It's in there," stated Bakura.

"But **what** is in there?" asked Duke. "Do we have any idea what to expect?"

"And please don't come back tomorrow, either!" a girl's shrill echoed from inside the well house. The group of friends outside was startled by this. It was followed by a male voice protesting and a loud thud. The Yu-Gi-Oh! cast sort of blinked outside. Before they could question each other about what they just heard, the door slid open and Kagome stepped out.

She immediately tensed up and it wasn't from her fight with Inu-Yasha. She sensed the Shikon Jewel shard moments before she processed the fact that a group of strange people were standing immediately outside the door.

"Um….who are you and why are you here?" Kagome managed to stammer._ "Why do they show up now, right after I send Inu-Yasha back?! I'd better be careful. I definitely sense a shard. No, two shards! But why are they here, now?!" _Her eyes quickly locked on one of their locations—inside the pendant on Yu-Gi's neck.

Bakura quickly stepped behind Tristan and turned his back to her. The Millennial Ring had nearly leapt out of his hand when she stepped forward. Now, all of the dangles were pointing strongly at her. He fumbled with his Millennial Item, trying to get it to deactivate so not to attract attention. However, it had a mind of its own.

"I'm Téa Gardner," Téa introduced, cheerfully despite the awkwardness. "We just want to talk. This is Tristan Taylor and Bakura Ryou and..."

"And I'm Joe Wheeler. I'm sure you've heard of me," interrupted Joe. He strutted up a step towards Kagome, his chest puffed out as he still wore the invisible label of second place in Duelist Kingdom. It would have been more serious had he not caught his foot on the board and stumbled. At the very least this forced Kagome to take her eyes off of the Millennial Puzzle.

"Can't say that I have…" murmured Kagome.

"I'm Duke Devlin," Duke interjected as Joe face faulted. "Nice to meet you." He tossed his black hair back in a carefree manner and placed a hand in the pocket of his uniform pants, looking every bit the essence of his 'cool' image.

"And I'm Yu-Gi Motou," finished Yu-Gi.

"Now that name sounds familiar," said Kagome, trying to act friendly despite her suspicions. She thought a moment. "Aren't you really good at cards or something?

"Um….yeah," stammered Yu-Gi, blushing slightly.

"So, who's that in there with you?" Joe asked, leaning over Kagome's shoulder to look into the well house.

Kagome's eyes wavered a moment and she sweat-dropped. "Who?" Her voice squeaked slightly. "There's no one in there. Go see for yourself if you don't believe me." She folded her hands behind her back and took a step backward, subconsciously anticipating a quick escape.

"I think I will," said Joe as he pushed his way into the well house. Because there were no electric lights on the inside, he quickly disappeared into the shadows, although they could all hear his footsteps on the old boards inside.

"Ignore him, he doesn't think…at all," said Téa. "Er...what's your name again?

"It's Kagome. Kagome Higurashi," Kagome answered. "And trust me, I know what it's like to be with some stupid guy who doesn't have a brain between his ears." She spoke with surprising terseness, knowing that she probably was overreacting due to not sleeping. After letting out a frustrated breath to refocus, she continued, "So...what did you want to talk about? If it's about the shrine my grandpa has all the answers." She tried to continue to act casual but once again her attention was slipping back to the Millennial Puzzle.

"Well...actually...it's about..." stammered Tristan. "Er...know much about Egypt?"

"Egypt?" echoed Kagome incredulously. Tristan shifted under look and rubbed the back of his head with his hand as he trailed off completely. She glanced around at every else's expressions but they also seemed hesitant. She focused on the Millennial Puzzle again. "Nice necklace...where did you get it from?"

"Um…My grandpa gave it to me," answered Yu-Gi.

He was saved for the time being from Kagome's follow up question by Joe stepping out of the well house again. Some cobwebs clung to his blond hair and he seemed baffled and frustrated. Once again, the interior of the well house was too dark to peer into clearly from the outside, especially since it was a brightly lit day, making the shadows seem all the more thicker.

"That's weird. There's no one in there," he reported.

"No way!" exclaimed Tristan. "We all know we heard two voices!"

"You must be hearing things," lied Kagome as she again shifted nervously.

It was Yami who noticed her position and prompted Yu-Gi to ask, "But you were with a guy earlier today. He had long white hair and a red kimono."

"W-who?" Kagome asked, again struggling to bluff. "Do you think I'm into compensated dating?!" She did her best to sound indignant.

"Not at all!" exclaimed Bakura, hiding the still active Millennial Ring behind his back. He quickly looked for something to deviate the topic. "So...your grandpa does run this place? I bought something from him. Is he a priest or a...?"

"If you bought something here it's junk," Kagome said dismissively.

Bakura's face greatly fell as his fingers loosened their grip on the spell tag concealed within his pocket. However, Kagome didn't notice this. She had finally noticed the location of the second Shikon shard that she was sensing. Although he had hidden the ring, she could feel its presence on him. She tried to visually search him without making it apparent that she was doing so to figure out where the shard was hidden.

To make the moment even more awkward, in that silence Kagome could hear the door to the well house slide open immediately behind her. She knew instantly by the expressions of the group in front of her who was behind her. The barking voice a second later confirmed it without a shadow of a doubt.

"Hey, Kagome! What are you still doing standing here?" greeted Inu-Yasha.

Kagome couldn't reply. Her whole body went stiff with tension and her tongue refused to move. She knew if she attempted to say anything that it would all come out in a jumble anyways. Unfortunately for her, the group in front of her had absolutely no problem commenting.

"Where'd he come from? I know that building was empty just a minute ago!" exclaimed Joe.

"What's with those ears? And that outfit?" commented Téa.

"That's the guy we saw outside of school this morning!" chimed Yu-Gi.

"Kagome, who are these people?" asked Inu-Yasha, eying them all up suspiciously, as if they were the ones who were out of place.

"We could ask the same thing about you!" shot Tristan.

"_My social life...is over..."_ Kagome lamented.

Through it all, Bakura didn't say a single word. The only one to notice this, though, was Yu-Gi, since Inu-Yasha's appearance held everyone else's attention. Yu-Gi glanced back at Bakura and noticed the Millennial Ring still pointing at Kagome outside of her line of vision. Furthermore, to Yami it was apparent that she had been hiding something. He opened his mouth to voice his suspicions but at the same moment both of their heads bobbed up. A very faint but rapidly growing power started tugging at them.

"Now what?!" exclaimed Kagome.

"You sense it too?" questioned Yu-Gi.

"What are you talking about?" asked Duke and Inu-Yasha at the same time.

Yu-Gi and Kagome both started to answer, then they stopped. Their eyes locked and for that moment they knew that they were sensing the same thing. The Millennial Puzzle and Shikon Jewel shards started pulsing warmly around their necks—the same with the Millennial Ring. A breeze picked up around their ankles, swirling around the ground, shaking the door of the well house, whistling through the cracks in its boards.

"I have a bad feeling," Bakura said in a near whimper.

Unknown to them at the time, the Millennial Ring and the Millennial Puzzle were not the only ones affected. The other five Millennial Items were also surging with power, much to the extreme surprise of their bearers wherever they might be. Likewise, all the shards of the Shikon Jewel were glowing with the very same aura, no matter how far into the past they were.

Joe, Téa, Tristan, and Duke were all giving them strange looks. Inu-Yasha tensed up and gripped the hilt of Tetsusaiga. However, a moment later an icy wind ripped through them, whipping their clothing and chilling them to the bone. A bright light flared beneath their feet as a three-way infinite symbol drew itself in the dirt, surrounded by a magician's ring complete with ancient runes that none of them recognized. They all let out cries of surprised which were virtually drowned out entirely by the roar of magic.

"What is this?!" gasped Joe as the shards and items flared even stronger.

"I have no idea!" answered Duke.

WOOSH! The well house door was ripped open. The well itself had started to act like a cyclone, a whirling vortex forming within it. It began to reach out for the magic that had called it. The shingles creaked and rattled, some of them coming off completely. The strange wind whipped into the well itself, tugging on everyone outside to follow. Somehow, the very essence of time and space had been torn. Unable to resist any more, they all screamed as the magic caught hold of them and threw them into darkness.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"What the...?!" exclaimed Sango, grabbing her bone boomerang as if this was an enemy that she could fight.

The wind ripped through their picnic, scattering it everywhere. Their hair and clothing whipped behind them as they did their best to shield themselves from the gale-like forces. Their eyes teared up from the force of the wind and they leaned close to the ground to keep from being thrown off of their feet. Shippō had rolled several yards away from Sango and Miroku and was now clinging to the trunk of a tree to keep from being picked up all together.

"This does not bode well," Miroku said, above the roar of the wind.

"But **what** is this?!" exclaimed Sango.

Miroku couldn't answer. A moment later the wind surged stronger, rushing into their lungs and making it hard to talk. It ripped around them like a cyclone, pulling them in all directions. It howled like a ferocious demon and then everything went black.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"What gives?!" demanded Koga. He had been in his den with the rest of his pack when suddenly everything had changed. He was somewhere far out in the middle of a strange woods. It did not smell like home. His pack was nowhere to be seen. And most important, the shards in his legs were glowing strongly. He could feel their magic surging almost to the point of burning.

"Who's ever idea of a trick this is…..they are going to pay!" he growled and ran off, branches and leaves whipping behind him as he raced through with all the speed that he possessed.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"What just happened?!" demanded Seto Kaiba the moment the wind had died down.

"It was some type of magic," answered Shayla as she leeched onto his upper arm out of fear. Her sixth sense was working in overdrive, flooding her system with adrenaline.

"There's no such thing," Kaiba automatically replied, although by now it was hard to deny.

Surrounding them was far from the plush Kaiba Corp. lobby. They were in the middle of a large grassland, surrounded by bright, spacious sky, high humidity, and large stones. Crickets resumed chirped and birds flew by, not giving the out-of-place couple a look.

"I have a bad feeling..." groaned Shayla. "What happened? ...Where are we?"

It took Kaiba a long moment to reply. Once he recognized the surroundings he couldn't help but gape for a minute, processing what he was seeing and trying to explain it rationally, without using anything related to magic. But either way, there was no mistaking the large stone structure that now surrounded them.

"It's Stonehenge! Impossible!" he exclaimed.

"But that's in England!" remarked Shayla.

"There's something different though," continued Kaiba, describing what she could not see. "It's whole...like it was made recently."

Shayla was was quiet for a moment, processing what she had sensed and what she was being told. "Seto, I know you don't believe in magic, but either way we have to be careful."

-x-x-x-x-x-

"What the heck just happened?!" demanded Marik as he frantically looked around. He was not at the museum with his sister like he had been a minute ago.

"Calm yourself, Marik," said Ishizu, who was also looking around curiously.

The two of them, along with their adopted older brother Odion, had suddenly found themselves far from the Domino Museum. The Millennial Rod and Millennial Necklace were only just starting to cool down from the surge that had claimed them. They now found themselves standing on a street paved with blue-grey stones and surrounded by buildings made out of sandstone. It was a narrow side street, but they could hear many people walking and talking not far away. The air was warm and dry, very different from the mugginess of Japan.

"Have we returned to Egypt?" questioned Odion.

"I want to know what happened with my rod!" grumbled Marik.

"Patience," Ishizu said to both of them. She cupped her hands around the Millennial Necklace hanging around her neck and closed her grey eyes in concentration. A moment later they snapped open in shock. "Oh my!"

"What sister?!" asked Marik.

"The present as we know it is far away! This is the past in the time of Octavius!"

-x-x-x-x-x-

"Strange," muttered Shadi as he walked through the crowds unseen. "Something has disturbed the balance of the Millennial Items. As their guardian, I must investigate."

The Egyptian crowd parted, allowing him enough room to pass by and vanish without attracting any attention. Above him the massive palace of the pharaoh loomed, a reminder to him of where his duty lay.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"Master, what was that disturbance?" asked a young girl with pale hair in a quiet, monotone voice.

"Show me your mirror, Kana," said a man with evil red eyes and pure dark hair.

Kana quietly and obediently stepped across the woven bamboo rug toward him. The room they were in was dimly lit and covered with darkness beyond shadows. There was almost no furniture there worth noting and the walls of this feudal castle were unremarkable. Once Kana reached her master she held her silver mirror steady, facing him so that he could see its surface that reflected everything except what was in front of it.

"What is it, Naraku?" asked another lady approaching from the shadows, noticing him gazing into the mirror's surface.

"It appears we have fallen into a time warp, Kagura," said Naraku with an evil smile.

"Is that so?" she asked. "But how?" She opened her fan out of habit, expecting to be ordered to take immediate action.

"The remaining Shikon Shards are behind it," he smiled even more evilly and rested his chin on the back of his hand.

"And what is your planning for obtaining them?" she asked.

"We will wait," he said.

"Wait?"

"There is something else involved here. We'll just let them play themselves out before we take action," he stated, calmly, as if the whole situation was nothing more than a slight source of amusement for him. "Everything is still within my control."

-x-x-x-x-x-

"Why did you bring the baby back here?" asked what appeared to be a toddler with a kwandao. "What is Naraku planning this time, Kohaku?" Hakudōshi leaned against his weapon, more focused on the infant the young boy was holding than the fact that they were suddenly standing together in the reeds near a river bank.

"I..." Kohaku trailed off. Not only did he not know the answer, but he was using all his self-control to hide his shock and surprise in order to conceal the fact that his memories had resurfaced. He glanced down at the baby in his arms—it was Naraku's heart and the key to destroying him. But Kohaku knew he had to be careful; if the baby touched him it could read his heart and know his memories were back.

"This is not Naraku's doing," the baby said, talking despite its apparent age. "Someone else...is toying with us."

"Fools then," retorted Hakudōshi. "I think it's time we show everyone who's really in charge here!"


	4. BoneEater's Well, Japan 1500AD

Gema's Personal Disclaimer: I'm putting this in front of every chapter I write, so no one can miss it.

First, the obvious, I don't own anything trademarked or copyrighted.

Second; These are my fics, so y'all will have to deal with my writing quirks. Do not bother telling me about my spelling choices, like Yu-Gi, Joe, Millennial, or whatever else they may be. These are not mistakes, they are intentional. Therefore, I don't want to hear about how they are other wise spelled. If spelling bothers you that much, then leave.

I, and everyone else, do not appreciate personal attacks. My fics are what are open to being critized, not my character. Attacking me is libel, and I will report it as harassment.

I will not include profanity in my writings. Deal with it. Also, I do not appreciate profanity in reviews, so please don't include it. There's over 600,000 words in the English language. I am sure y'all can use something besides profanity.

Some review etiquette should be observed. As says at the bottom of each review page "It is extremely helpful to use this opportunity to comment on an aspect of the story that can be improved. A well rounded critique is often the most rewarding tool for the writer." I would appreciate constructive reviews. "Please continue" is not very helpful. Reviews that are solely demands for updates or explanations about a lack of updates are not helpful. And please, use recognizable grammar when reviewing. A review isn't very helpful if I can't read it.

Please check my bio from time to time. If I am on vacation or something and cannot update, that will be in the first few lines of my bio. I'll try to let y'all know if there's an update delay, so please check.

Feel free to contact me either through IM or e-mail, that information is in my bio as well.

Now, most of you aren't the problem, but this is for the few that are. This might come across as crabby, and I'm not really like this, but I've been pushed to my limit because of certain reviews.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 4: Bone-Eater's Well, Japan 1500AD

"Where...are we?" groaned Yu-Gi as he woke up and sat up, rubbing his head.

Near him Téa and Joe were also waking up and trying to reorient themselves. A yard away from them were Kagome and the strange man with unusual ears as well as a small child that he hadn't seen before. But that wasn't what held his attention. It was _where_ they were that had them all stuck in spellbound silence. They had all been laid out in a grassy meadow not far away from a thick-looking forest. A wooden well sat in the middle, surrounded by long grasses. A gentle breeze blew through the leaves, bugs hummed, and the sun shone down. It would have been a very serene scene if he knew where they were and how they got there.

"Anyone get the number of the dump truck that hit me?" moan Joe.

Kagome sat up and rubbed her eyes. "I was having the worst nightmare..." She trailed off as she noticed the other three teenagers sprawled out and regaining consciousness. Her expression fell. "...and it's not over yet apparently."

"Hey Kagome! You're back!" chimed Shippō, climbing onto her shoulder. He then noticed the newcomers too. "...who are they? They're dressed as funny as you."

"What just happened?" murmured Téa, sounding like she was half-asleep.

"What are _they_ doing here?!" shot Inu-Yasha, leaping to his feet the moment he was conscious and picked up the scent of the other teenagers. Out of instinct and reflex, he put his hand on the hilt of Tetsusaiga.

Not feeling threatened, Yu-Gi, Joe, and Téa groggily sat up, regaining their senses and taking in the scenery around them. The murmured baffled questions under their breath and to each other, all of which went unanswered for the time being. Shippō watched them as they looked around, sitting on Kagome's shoulder who had gone rigged with tension at imagining the worst possible scenarios, especially for her life during modern times.

"It's that guy with the freaky ears!" Joe pointed dramatically, once he had turned around and noticed Inu-Yasha who was semi-poised to attack.

"Did they come through the well with you?" Shippō asked Kagome. "I thought that you and Inu-Yasha were the only ones who could go through the well. I couldn't, but maybe that was because Inu-Yasha shoved a tree down it." He paused a moment. "But...Sou'unga traveled through the well. And didn't you say a centipede demon brought you here the first time, Kagome? ...Kagome?" Kagome had hardly heard him, she was still recovering from the shock of facing modern teens with her feudal secret. Shippō moved to wave his paw in her face, but then noticed that he was getting strange looks from Téa.

"...Does that kid have a tail?" she asked at length, staring openly at Shippō.

"A tail? Dog ears? Are we in the circus sideshow?" remarked Joe.

"Are they Duel Monsters?" asked Yu-Gi.

Inu-Yasha growled lowly. "I don't know how you got here, but I already don't like you."

"Hey, where's Tristan and Duke?!" Yu-Gi suddenly exclaimed, looking frantically around. "And Bakura!"

Shippō picked up on this train of thought and also began looking around. "Sango? Miroku? Kirara? Where'd you go?"

"Do you think they're back at that shrine?" Téa asked Yu-Gi.

"But then why are we here when they're not?"

"I'm sure they're behind all this," Inu-Yasha shot to Shippō, directing his comment at Yu-Gi and his friends.

"**I** don't like **you** very much either!" snapped Joe. "We did nothing! Everything was fine until you and your ears showed up!"

"Joe, we've got bigger things to worry about than picking a fight," Yu-Gi cautioned with a sweat-drop. "Like...how do we get home?"

"_Where's_ home?" added Téa.

As the conversation got progressively louder, ruder, and more jumbled Kagome's eye twitched slightly. Her head lowered, shrouding the upper part of her face in the shadow of her bangs. She began to mouth something without vocalizing it. Shippō noticed the rigidness in her shoulders first and involuntarily cringed.

"...Kagome?" he asked tentatively.

"What happened to our friends?!" Joe shot at Inu-Yasha.

"I'm asking you the same thing!" Inu-Yasha argued back.

Yu-Gi shuddered inwardly. "Can we figure things out somewhere else. This place doesn't seem safe."

"Somewhere else where?" asked Téa. "And we still don't even know who they are." She added the last part with some thought, referring to Inu-Yasha and Shippō.

"...be quiet..." Kagome murmured, tensely.

"Why don't you just get lost?!" Inu-Yasha continued.

"Make me!" Joe retorted.

"Joe...calm down," Yu-Gi said but his comment went unheard.

"Be quiet...stop the noise..." continued Kagome, getting more and more frustrated with each passing second.

"That tears it!" shouted Inu-Yasha as he began to draw Tetsusaiga.

"Shut up! Shut up everyone and sit!" Kagome finally snapped.

FLASH! CRASH! On her word Inu-Yasha was drug to the ground eating grass. He fumed and swore as he struggled to get to his feet again. Yu-Gi, Téa, and Joe fell silent, watching in surprise and wondering what happened. Joe watched longer than anyone else, something forming in the back of his brain as his eyes momentarily slid over to Kagome. While everyone mentally recovered in silence, Kagome took several deep, long breaths and forced herself to calm down, clenching and unclenching her fists as she did so.

"Maybe you shouldn't have commented on the ears," Téa remarked to Joe.

"What...just happened?" asked Yu-Gi, slowly.

"It might sound hard to believe, but we all just travel five-hundred years in history through that well. This is the same place in Japan that we were just in, just during feudal times. That's Inu-Yasha, he's half dog demon. This is Shippō, he's a full fox demon. And they're Yu-Gi, Téa, and...I forget his name, but they're some people from my time," Kagome explained quickly with a single breath. Yu-Gi and Téa just stared at her when her explanation was finished. Joe, however, didn't have that problem.

"Joe! Joe Wheeler! Second place finalist in Duelist Kingdom, fourth place in Battle City, and finalist in the Grand Prix too! Got it memorized?" Joe bragged rather forcefully.

"...We're hiding your Playstation2," sighed Téa with a sweat-drop.

The spell on Inu-Yasha lifted and he leapt to his feet that same moment. His golden eyes swept over the group and for a moment Kagome thought he might try to draw his sword again. However, after that moment he relaxed slightly and turned partially away from them with disdain showing in his golden eyes. "Feh, they're just weak humans from your time. Let's just dump them in the well and get on with things."

"Who you calling weak?!" fumed Joe.

"...Are we really five hundred years ago?" asked Téa as she processed Kagome's rant. Kagome and Shippō nodded in unison. "And...that well really will take us home?" Again, they both nodded.

"But, what about our other friends?" chimed Yu-Gi. "We can't just leave them!"

"And Sango and Miroku," said Shippō. "Hey, do you think they went to your time, Kagome?"

"I...don't know," Kagome said, massaging her temples slightly.

"Maybe...we should just go back..." said Téa, watching as Inu-Yasha and Joe growled, postured, trash-talked, and threatened each other.

"I...don't know. I get the feeling that we're supposed to be here right now," said Yu-Gi after glancing down at the Millennial Puzzle briefly. He hesitated, remembering the dream he had had, but he decided not to mention it just yet. "Something is going on and we're going to be involved in it whether we want to be or not."

"Scram while you have the chance!" shot Inu-Yasha, baring his claws at Joe. Although he had intended the comment at Joe, he also aimed it at the others present. "This place is way too dangerous for weaklings like you. You wouldn't last five minutes! Now get lost or do I have to drag you down that well by force?"

"Um...that might be a problem," chimed Shippō. While they had been arguing he had hopped off of Kagome's shoulder and walked over to the Bone-Eater's Well. He peered down it and frowned, although the others couldn't see what bothered him.

"Now what?" Kagome groaned internally as she joined him. Her mouth hung open for a moment when she looked.

The inside of the well had one long, vertical fissure running from the top corner all the way to the bottom where it vanished into shadows. Wooden planks and slivers were stuck into the sides with more frequency the further down she looked. Kagome also recognized the shingles mixed in with the boards—they were from the roof of the well house back at her family's shrine during the modern day. Her head slumped forward when she realized that the well was out of order.

"Are you okay?" Téa asked in a slightly comforting tone.

"I...think that weird windstorm broke the well," Kagome sighed. " ...We can't get back."

"What?!" Téa. Yu-Gi, and Joe exclaimed in unison, racing over to see what the problem was.

Kagome continued, "That debris is from our time, which means the well is also broken on the other side, too."

"You've got to be kidding me!" grumbled Inu-Yasha.

"We're...trapped?" Téa sort of squeaked.

"Until my family realizes there's a problem and fixes it," answered Kagome, sounding frustrated. "Why is all this happening?"

"We were pulled here," answered Yu-Gi after a paused and a brief exchange with Yami. "Something caused that windstorm, and that something wanted to bring us to this place. That means there's things we must do."

"That's the pharaoh's thoughts, right?" asked Téa, which Yu-Gi confirmed with a single nod.

"_Pharaoh?"_ Kagome only briefly wondered. She took a deep breath to force away her frustration and put a knuckle to her lips in thought. It had started with the dream and then her sensing Shikon shards in the pendants Yu-Gi and Bakura wore. When they had all gathered, the strange force had dragged them all to the past.

"You might be right..." Kagome said. "I definitely think there was someone behind whatever brought us all here."

"If someone's pulling strings it has to be Naraku!" Inu-Yasha interrupted.

"Who?" asked Joe.

"We'll explain on the way," said Kagome, taking a few steps. "We need answers and the person closest who might have them in Kaede." She ignored Inu-Yasha's groans and protests and started walking to the village, letting everyone else catch up with her, answering the questions they did have to the best of her abilities.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Inside of Kaede's hut, everyone sat on the floor around a small fire, sipping green tea in bowls that Kaede had served them. Kagome sat immediately to her left while Inu-Yasha sat further back behind her. Next to Kagome was Shippō, Téa, Yu-Gi and then Joe on the right side of Kaede. Kaede listened to their story without interrupting, only offering the occasional nod or murmur of confirmation to show that she was still paying close attention. She did her best to block out the glares that Joe and Inu-Yasha shot at each other, but that tried even her patience.

"...And that's why the pharaoh and I think there's a real reason behind all of this," finished Yu-Gi at length.

"What's this about a pharaoh?" Kagome finally asked, remembering that mentioned a pharaoh earlier that day.

Yu-Gi didn't answer, he just coughed sheepishly and looked away. Kagome tried to make eye contact with his friends to see if they had the answer but Téa quickly took a large gulp of tea and Joe started feverishly rubbing the back of his head.

"I know," answered Kaede, also noticing their strange behavior. "There is a spirit in that pendant, correct?" Her good eye dropped to the Millennial Puzzle and she started at it hard for a long second.

"Er...right...how did you know?" stammered Yu-Gi.

"I can sense that spirit's presence," Kaede answered, simply.

"What spirit?" asked Kagome, slightly surprised. She glanced at the puzzle, trying to sense an aura, but she couldn't see around the Shikon shard she sensed glowing deep inside of it.

Yu-Gi sighed and as she was watching, Kagome sensed the Millennial Puzzle pulse. A moment later Yami took control. Kagome and Kaede blinked in surprise while Shippō and Inu-Yasha completely missed the transformation.

"That would be me," answered Yami. He picked up the Millennial Puzzle with both hands, holding it up slightly for all to see. "My soul resides within the Millennial Puzzle." He looked away for an almost unnoticeable moment. "I cannot answer why...I have no memories of my life."

Inu-Yasha snorted in disbelief but no one listened to him. Kagome and Shippō stared while trying to look like they weren't staring at him. Kaede merely nodded once while Joe and Téa were completely used to this.

Kaede turned to Kagome, "Ye did not sense him as well? Your awareness is greater than mine."

Kagome stiffened, mostly out of embarrassment. "I...well..." Kaede continued to give her a placid look, waiting patiently for her to continue. "It's not my fault, I can't see anything around his Shikon shard!"

Inu-Yasha was on his feet that moment. His hand flew to Tetsusaiga's hilt as he leaned forward, ready to charge. "That's where the shard is?!" he just about roared.

Joe also reacted with nearly the same speed. His instincts from countless street fights took over and he braced himself to defend his friend. While Téa cringed back out of surprise, Joe shouted, "Hey, leave my bud alone!"

They both started forward but Kagome was faster than them both, "SIT!"

FLASH! CRASH! Inu-Yasha plowed face first with the ground, right at Joe's feet, inches away from Kaede's back.

"Kagome!" he growled.

Joe also stopped his charge when he saw his opponent fall. He paused completely, watching Inu-Yasha struggle to right himself. A devious idea formed as he put two and two together. An impish smirk spread across his face and it was all he could do to keep from laughing with glee.

"How...did you do that?" asked Téa, but no one answered her.

Kaede took a long sip out of her green tea and waited for the chaos and cacophony to subside. When it had, she set her bowl down and turned to Yami. With a calm and unreadable expression she asked, "What do ye know about this Shikon shard?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," answered Yami with complete honesty.

"I know I see it though, it's right there in your pendant," insisted Kagome, once more peering intently at the Millennial Puzzle. There was no mistaking the aura from it.

Yami just shook his head, quietly showing his disagreement. A complete silence would have fall across the hut except Inu-Yasha's subjugation spell lifted and he was on his feet a moment later, glaring eye to eye with Joe. However, Joe once again smirked impishly.

"Sit!" he exclaimed.

Nothing happened.

Joe looked dumbfounded. _"Does it only work when she says it?" _he wondered.

Inu-Yasha chuckled in the back of his throat and opened his mouth to tell off Joe when Kaede spoke.

"That's enough you two." She took another sip of tea and turned her attention back to Kagome while Joe and Inu-Yasha both murmured 'not worth my time' and took their seats. "Kagome, ye certain about the shard?"

Kagome nodded in affirmation and pulled out the shard in the tiny glass jar that hung around her neck. She held it up, letting Yami and the others see it. "This is the last fragment of the Shikon jewel...well, we **thought **it was the last..."

"Pretty..." Téa murmured with big eyes.

Yami's attention was instantly hooked. He stared at the tiny jewel shard, double and triple checking it to make sure it was what he thought it was. There was no doubt in his mind either. "That has the same power as the Millennial Items. It has to be what Bakura sensed earlier today!"

"Millennial Item_s_?" Kagome echoed, emphasizing the plural.

Yami nodded as Kaede listened closely. She closed her remaining eye for a moment to process her thoughts. "Spirit...are this items from your era?"

"Yes," answered Yami. "Well, no...They're not from the present. They come from the time when I was alive; ancient Egypt—over five thousand years ago."

"_That explains the 'pharaoh' part,"_ noted Kagome.

"So...what does this all mean?" asked Téa.

"Hmm..." Kaede murmured in thought. She stroked her chin as she put all the information that she had just been told together. The other's waited for her to answer, Inu-Yasha snorting once in disdain and Shippō playing with his wooden snake as his attention was wandering off. "Tis strange—that long ago, the Shikon jewel did not exist. And yet, it clearly is present in these items, even though all the shards are accounted for." She stood, rather slowly considering her age, and picked up her empty tea bowl. She also gathered the bowls of those near her and set them in a bucket of water in the corner before she continued. "This is something I cannot answer. The one would would have the answers ye seek would be the spirit of Midoriko."

"Midoriko..." murmured Kagome, remembering her tragic story and the origin of the Shikon jewel.

"Um...can't we just go home?" asked Téa.

"Hrmph, as much as I want you dead-weights gone you're stuck here until that well gets fixed," grumbled Inu-Yasha. "So you might as well stay in this village so you don't drag me down and we'll go see Midoriko."

"I'm surprised you're so willing, Inu-Yasha," commented Kagome.

"Anything to get rid of them!" he shot back, causing Kagome to sweat-drop slightly.

"We're coming too," insisted Yami. "I also want to know the connection between the Puzzle and this jewel—it might help me regain my memories."

"So, it's settled then, we're coming!" chimed Joe with a type of cheer.

"No you're not!" countered Inu-Yasha.

"Yes, we (they) are!" replied Yami, Téa, Joe, Kagome, and Kaede in unison, completely vetoing him.


End file.
